Christopher Merrill

Poet, writer, translator, professor, and former director of the International Writing Program. My views ≠ The University of Iowa.

[Christopher Merrill @CLMerrill]

On the Road to Lviv, my book-length poetic meditation on Adam Zagajewski, cultural diplomacy, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is now available @arrowsmithpress.

[Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum]

The US is once again deliberately allowing Ukrainian civilians to be killed

[Kateryna Lisunova @KaterynaLis]

‼️BREAKING: For several days now, Ukrainian military units have reported once again systematic disruptions to Starshield operations across the front line and russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. Speed restrictions of 161 km/h (100 mph) are preventing Ukrainian forces from effectively intercepting russian jet-powered drones, allowing some strikes to get through and resulting in more Ukrainian casualties. Ukrainian officials are working with the American side to determine the cause of these restrictions.

SOURCE - UA PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY

[John Harwood @JohnJHarwood]

This is a real-time story about the arc of the moral universe.

In April 2025, at the manic height of Trump 2.0 depravity, I joined a group of other adults in taking some African-American high school students from Baltimore to Alabama.

Our mission was teaching them about the civil rights movement and the challenges it overcame. In Montgomery, we visited the Rosa Parks Museum and three spectacular educational sites developed by Bryan Stevenson - the Legacy Museum, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park.

/1

[Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum]

While Kushner and Witkoff head to Moscow

[Molotov @ipoolgian]

🚨 IMPORTANTE

Exclusiva de Reuters muestra el verdadero móvil de la operación militar que llevó a la captura de Maduro

La investigación reveló que una semana antes de la operación militar del 3 de enero, el vicepresidente JD Vance abordó la futura venta del crudo venezolano con un operador de la firma Vitol y megadonante de su campaña, allanando el camino para que Vitol y Trafigura recibieran sin licitación el monopolio de comercialización petrolera que ya les ha generado cientos de millones de dólares.

Registros de vuelo ubican el avión oficial de JD Vance y el jet privado de John Addison (operador de Vitol) juntos el 27 de diciembre en Bozeman, Montana, rumbo al exclusivo Yellowstone Club.

Según una fuente enterada del encuentro, Vance preguntó qué tan rápido podrían vender el crudo venezolano si EEUE tomaba el control del suministro.

Aunque Addison negociaba gasolina en EEUU y carecía de experiencia técnica en contratos internacionales de crudo, había donado 300.000 dólares a Vance en 2022 y 7 millones de dólares a comités de Trump en 2024 (el mismo año en que Vitol pagó 50 millones en California por un caso de manipulación de precios donde Addison fue señalado).

Recomendado por Vance, Addison recibió el 5 de enero (dos días después de la operación) la llamada del secretario de Energía, Chris Wright.

La Casa Blanca omitió la licitación pública y el 9 de enero Vitol y Trafigura ya tenían las licencias.

Con más de 200 millones de barriles exportados en lo que va de 2026, expertos estiman que los operadores ganan entre 3 y 3,50 dólares por barril (un margen de 3,5 % a 4 %, superior al 1 %–3 % habitual de Vitol). Ambas firmas mantienen en secreto sus contratos con PDVSA, y Vitol confirmó tener además relación comercial con NABEP, la petrolera de Alejandro Betancourt

Este reporte se suma a la filtración del informe de KPMG publicada ayer por The New York Times, según la cual Vitol y Trafigura concentraron el 61 % de los 12.260 millones de dólares ingresados a la Cuenta de Custodia de Venezuela antes de que Washington transfiriera casi la totalidad de esos fondos de vuelta al Banco Central de Venezuela

Es decir:

Una semana antes del ataque militar, el gobierno de Trump ya estaba coordinando en un club privado de esquí cómo repartir la comercialización del petróleo venezolano a sus megadonantes de campaña sin licitación pública.

https://t.co/U3MFGkmOn9

[JP Lindsley | Journalist @JPLindsley]

Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has laid out a five-point plan for peace in Ukraine:

1. Integrate Ukraine into NATO’s missile, air and drone defences and send all Patriots to Kyiv

2. Unfreeze Russian assets and give them to Ukraine

3. Enforce more sanctions on Russia and ban all Russian fossil fuel supplies to Europe

4. Move the Coalition of the Willing into Ukraine to defend rear areas and critical infrastructure

5. Develop ironclad security guarantees and expel countries from the Coalition that aren’t willing to fight Russia if a ceasefire breaks down

[Laura Rozen @lrozen]

Horrific, as @SEPeaceMissions and Jared Kushner go to Russia to get snookered by Putin again. They should cancel the trip

[Alex Raufoglu @ralexdc]

NEW!! Top Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Armed Services Comms accuse Trump envoys Kushner and Witkoff of undermining Ukraine and NATO by pushing territorial concessions to Russia and a potential U.S. pullback from Eastern Europe 👇

[Alicia E. Stallings @ae_stallings]

We poets should speak out on his behalf:

[Anna Bower @AnnaBower]

It’s patently absurd to suggest that there’s a criminal predicate here. But even if there were…why exactly would the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas be the one to prosecute it?

[Christopher Merrill @CLMerrill]

Good grief.

[Laura Rozen @lrozen]

my god

[Baltic Takes @Baltic_Takes]

Latvia is giving us a glimpse of what the UN is supposed to be.

This is a Presidency of the Security Council that actually respects the UN Charter.

In an emergency session called this week to address Russia’s continued atrocities against civilians, Latvian Foreign Minister @Braze_Baiba called out Russia for its genocidal actions, its slaughter and terror, its blocking of grain exports to the world, its sabotage and shadow attacks across Europe, and its lies - all because Russia is unable to unable to make gains on the battlefield, despite throwing a million Russian men into the meat grinder.

“The facts are undeniable. Russia’s leaders’ statements and Russia’s actions prove the intent to destroy Ukraine, to destroy its sovereignty, territorial
integrity, and political independence, the Ukrainian nation itself and Ukrainians as a national group.”

She reiterated the rules of the UN Charter, on which European security architecture is also based, and reiterated that Ukraine is defending itself and the UN Charter.

“So when Russian representatives seek negotiations on the future of European security, we ask them simply to respect the UN charter. Not to distract. Not to deflect. Just to stop attacking the basic principles that all states have agreed to.”

She called for accountability for Russian war crimes and an immediate, unconditional ceasefire.

[Aaron David Miller @aarondmiller2]

Stunning how Witkoff and Kushner try every angle (bribes really)- offering Putin business deals; now a role in European security except one angle that might actually facilitate a deal to end war — pressure on Putin

[Alicia E. Stallings @ae_stallings]

Unconscionable:

[Jonathan Landay Reuters @JonathanLanday]

Russia's chief negotiator on Ukraine leaves no doubt that Putin will refuse to give up any Ukrainian territory seized by force: "...wherever the Russian flag has been raised, it must not be lowered."

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

Zelenskyy: Our proposal is to swap all Ukrainian prisoners of war for all Russian ones.

There are 5,000-plus POWs in Russia and in Ukraine. What is the problem with exchanging them all, so they stop living in those hard conditions? I can't see one. 1/

[Haley Britzky @halbritz]

The US Army sentinel guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier admonished Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and a group of his senior advisers Wednesday after some in the group laughed and talked near the solemn memorial following a Veterans Day ceremony.

“All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times.” the sentinel called out, stopping his patrol to face the group as they departed.

Hegseth was standing and taking photos in front of the tomb with his wife, Jennifer, Chief of Staff Ricky Buria, Deputy Chief of Staff Patrick Weaver, and senior adviser and deputy assistant Tami Radabaugh after the ceremony held at Arlington National Cemetery for Veterans Day.
https://t.co/9LMijP4YAm

[Jay in Kyiv @JayinKyiv]

Once again proving that yet another round of fake negotiations was only meant to serve as theatrical background for the Trump family to remove Russia sanctions while blaming Ukraine, Putin's chief negotiator Medinsky in Abu Dhabi confirms that Putin still intends on occupying Ukraine.

"We will return every inch of OUR land".

[Christopher Merrill @CLMerrill]

Insane.

[Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @ReichlinMelnick]

NEW: The @nytimes confirms that ICE deliberately electronically "disappeared" tens of thousands of people in detention and ordered contractors to refuse to reveal where they're held to family or lawyers.

30% of all immigrants detained in ICE jails now have their location hidden.

[Timothy Snyder @TimothyDSnyder]

Very strange. Rep. Jordan’s role in the coup attempt and in the sexual abuse scandal at Ohio State are the two things everyone knows about him. He has never been the main sponsor of a bill that became law, so that’s pretty much his whole cv.